Thomas Friedman argues that sustainable design is patriotic. Will non-choir members be convinced?

Posted the next day.

As Bourbon Street throbs beneath my hotel room window, it is a little hard to focus on anything else--and in my exhausted state it's all starting to get mixed up with Thomas Friedman's talk this morning.

With an intense focus on regional design and other green building issues, AIA 2011 looks to the future.

I've just arrived in the press room at the AIA National Convention in New Orleans, and am really looking forward to learning a lot, finding some exciting new products to share with you, and perhaps even meeting some of you in person. If you couldn't make it this year--or if you're here and we're at different sessions-- watch this space for updates for the next few days.

By HB Lozito

Ideas worth spreading have a way of crossing disciplines. At a recent TED event, HB Lozito found links to green building that may surprise you.

Like many other people, I have been lusting after attending a TED talk for the last several years. I tend to eat them up while on my lunch break. Or better still, if I can relate them directly to my work (which I often can) I even occasionally watch while actually at my desk. I am a person obsessed.

Attending Decon '11

Reusing building materials is an increasingly pressing topic as the global recession continues and people begin to notice greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of new building materials (see “A 2030 Challenge for Building Product Manufacturers,” EBN March 2011). Next week, I will attend the Building Materials Reuse Association’s annual DECON Conference—a national conference on deconstruction, reuse, and recycling.

Conserval's SolarWall was the pioneer in the transpired solar collector market, but innovations abound.

We continue our primer on building responsibly in the post-carbon era: How do we design to honor and support nature's patterns, rather than co-opting them?

[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "root" concerns. Enjoy--and please share your thoughts. – Tristan Roberts]

Biomass supporters cite it as a "green" fuel like wind and solar. Using it to generate electricity, though, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of public health and efficiency.

"On a scale from 1 to 10, how nice are you?"

Enter the greenwash-free zone with the webinar that answers your questions on what green labels really mean and which ones to trust.

Wed., May 18 | 3 p.m. ET Register now

Lots of big news from the 2011 Living Future event in Vancouver, including the winners of the Living City competition.

The 2011 Living Future "unconference" in Vancouver is a hopping, high-energy event. As usual, CEO, host, and MC Jason McLennan has set a high bar with his passion and willingness to push boundaries. Except Jason, all the keynote speakers this year are women, making it a little anticlimactic that the theme of next year's conference is the role of women in green building.

It's spring and time to get outside! GreenSpec looks at landscaping products that use recycled content, save water, reduce stormwater runoff, and even look good.

After a long, cold winter in Vermont (and yes, it even snowed last week), the temperature rose to an unbelievable 79°F here this afternoon.